Bed bathing apparatus



l`1922 2 sheets-sheet 1' Apr.`I 10,' i923.

L. E. BERNIER BED BATHING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 6,

ATTORNEYS WIT/VESSES Apr. 1o, 1923. 1,451,437

L. E. BITIRNIER' BED BATHING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 6, 1922 2 sheets-sheet 2 NVENTO? L. E. Bernlef) A TTORNE YS WIT/VESSEL? d few Patented Apr. 10, 1923.

j. Ta all who-m ity may concern:

" Apparatus,

tication.

instar UNIT BD; tsr-Aras l LRAHE. BERNIER, or REL-so, WAS'RINGTN.

" ,B'D BAT'HiNG APPARATUS. t 'j Application med January 6,'1922. `serial Nia-527,391.. 'y

Be it known that'i, LEAH E. BERNIER, a

citizen ofthe United States, and aresident of'Kelso, in the county of Cowlitz 'and State of" Washington, have invented certain new and` useful Improvements in vBed t Bathing lThis invention relates to a bed bathing apparatus. n

' The objectl of 'the invention is' to provide an ,t apparatus which may be easily and quickly attached to a bedand arranged kfor bathing a patientin the bed withouty greatly disturbing the patient.

It is also an ob ect of the invention that the parts of .the apparatus maybe easily foldable into acompact' bundle sol that theV same may be transported from` place to place vby a nurse or doctor. n i j .Itis a further object of'the invention that theapparatus be extremelysimple in con- .struction and adapted tobe arranged for bathing afperson by a nurse withoutvo'ther assistance if such is necessary. I j A f, j l

lOther objects andob'ects relating'sto details of construction,"combination andarrangement of parts will hereinafter appear vi-nj-thel detailed description tol follow.'

The invention is illustrated wayhof example in the accompanying drawings, Jin

whichz-- y y 4 Figure 1 is a perspective View showingthe vbathing apparatus when applied to a-- .bed and `fully assembled for use, i

Figure `2 is an end elevation of the' appaf ratus vwhen fully assembled as `sho-wn' 1n 'FleureL Figure/3 1s a` detailedview showing the manner in which the rframe members of the. apparatus are 'detachably held to a bed, and

Figure 4 is a' 'detailed viewshowing in detailthe mannerin which the frame members are hinged to one another. j

i Referring to theudjjrawings' more particularly, the bed shown/'in Figure -1k in this instance is of `the type usually used in hos-v pitals andeonsistsin the usual'head frame 10,.;t'oot frame 11, and the sidemembers 12.

The frame or supports, orv the bathing apparatus yconsist in the two side members 13, each of which is hingedly connectedk at,

its'rear end to an upwardlyextending ,frame ymember 14 as at 15. t n

.The hinged ends. of ythe members,..13l are `bifurcated"and likewise .the associated fends of which the following is a speciof the frame' members j Each member tPA/,rear errics...f.

is connected to its associatedmembery 14 by a link or hingingl element 16,'Figure 4, said link being arcuate in shape .and having its t ends pivotally connected te `the membersl and 14 by the Ameans of fpinsas .at 1,7.' ,The

upwardly extending-frame members i14are in lturn connected vattheir upper ends by af connecter member A18, said frame'members 14 being pivotally kconnected to the memberk 18 as' at 19,Figu're 2.1'Alsofthem-ember'lS bulanmember 20,- the purpose of which will later be explained. y-etween the 4upstanding-frame members 14 adjacent their upper ends ltherey is disposed a' pair; olf: links 21,

is formed with an lupwardly extending tu'- said links being pivota'lly vconnected at their v adjoining ends as; at 22,k andfeach .linkL beingformedwith 'a slot l23through which/a suitable stud 24 extending from the asso.- ciated` frame member 14 extends and car r-ylnga nut 25. Asis-seen'by this construc` Y tion the frame members'14 upon loosening of the nuts '25 maybe' foldedone upon the other. y y f i 'Between each frame member 14 Iand 'asso ciatedjlongitudinal frame member 13 there i is extended fa pair of links 26.1111161127, said links being pivotallyfconnected at th'eii adjoining ends by-"the means of' a pin ask at l28 andin asimilar mannereachlink its otherend connected to thefassociated frame n'ueinber.` The purpose of the links is to; hold the frame members 14 in their 'raised` position, andfalso asisr obvious these links willpermit -folding movement of the lone' gitudinal vmembers 13, that is', permit the same to. be folded upon themembers 141 to v wing nut 31 by which the samemay be easily removedv or applied to the 'bedfrail The construction of'this jclanip is specifically shownjinFigure 3,'fand as is seen Jfrom ythe uppensidelof each 'clamp therey extends a tubular member 32. From each raine'mem- "ber 18 of "the bathingV kapparatus there! is extendeddownwardlyv ajstud "33 `wl'iic'h Athreaded and vadapted [for receiving anfinteriorlythreaded tubular member 34, Figure 3. The tubular member 34, in each instance, isL adapted to `slidingly enter the associated tubular standmember 32.y By this arrangement the side members 13` are amply supported and the end frame vmembers 14 are likewise supported bythe side v membersthrough the links 26 and 27.

,In order to form afcontainer orreceptacle in which the patient may be bathed, I provide awater kproosheeting such as generally Y indicated at S, which may be of rubber or i is adapted to be. extended about the head j held'elevatedbya snap 40 which is securedl frame 10 in the manner shown, and which carries a snapk38 at its reeend which may beconnectedwith aring`39 secured to the sheeting. S. The rear end of the sheeting is to theconnecting member 18, and whi-ch in yturn' connects with a ring 41 secured to the sheeting S. `Also a snapmay beplaced on each rear frame member 14 as a-t42 and connected with-a suitable-ring carried by the sheet S.

:As fis obvious yby holding the marginal sides of theends of sheet-S in the manner shown and as described and illustrated in Figure 1, there is formed a receptacle or container in which the patientmay be immersed in" water.- 'As is seen the sheet is held yslightly inclinedtoward the forward end of the bed and for this reason the water will ot course collect in the rear endet the sheet.

For draining the water from the sheet there f may bev provided a hose 43 which may be suitably connected as at r44 through the l sheeting S. vvAlso the hose 43 may be f equipped with a clamp valve 45 sothat the same may be closed when desired. Beneath the hose 43 there may be placed abowl or the likeas at 46 forcatchingthe water which would be dislodged by the hose, or ita drain is convenient thehose may be led to the drain and thus doingaway with the need ot Aeo the receptacle46.

` For providing means to immediatelywash and bathe a patient, l associate with the coupling member 18 of the iframe members 14 a rod 47 said rod having its lower end extending into the tubularmember 2Ol and f detachably held by athumb screw 49. At the upper end of the rod there is provideda split sleevev50 having `extensions at its free -endas shown,'which is suitably held against downwardymovement upon the rod bya thumb screw 50. To the sleeve extensions most link, and said bolt in turn being pro-` vided with the usual wing nut as at 54 whereby the links 53 may be locked in their extended position and support the extension member 51.y

Adjacent the outer end of the extension member 51 there is secured the upper end ot a supporting arm 55 which has a forwardly extending portion at `its lower end upon which a water pail 56 is seated, and said pail having secured to l. its upper end the one end of a strap 57, the other end ot said strap being slottedand adapted to be hooked upon the end of ther extension 51 for holding the pail 56 in position. Also the extension meniber 51 may be formed with the hooks 58.` one of said hooks being used forsupporting a soap container 59 through the means of a frame 60. The soap container 59 is prefer-` ably cylindrical in shape tapering at its lower end as at 61, while the frame '60 consists in a rod member y62 having itslower end formed with afork 63 upon which the tapered portion 61 of the soap`foontainerr62 may be seated. `The upper end of rod'62 terminates a laterally extending portion 64 which is formed with a hook member 65 at apoint intermediate its length, said hook y member extending over the forward hook 58.v rAlso ythe portion 64 of thel rod 62 may be formed with extension 66 to serve for holding the soap positionasshown. y

To the lower end of the ywater pail 56 there is connected a iexible hose 67 and a similar hose 68 is connected to the ,lower end of the soap container 59. A clamp valve 70 is provided 'for the hose 67 and a similar clamp valve 71 for the hose 68. The clamp valve 71 should preferably be of the adjustable type so that a predetermined amount of liquid soap maybe allowed to runL through container 59 in a .vertical the hose 68. The hose `from the water pail 56 and the hose from the` ysoap container 59 are connected by a 'Y-oonnection' as vat( 72 so that both maycommunicate with the hose 73.

vThe hose 73 atits other end is attached toy an ordinary bath spray nozzle 74, and said'nozlzvle carrying a sponge 75 by which water may be applied to the body ofva patient.

The pail 56, in this instance, is adapted to supply thewater for bathing-the person. however it is to be understoodygthat the pail may be 'obviated by connecting they hose 67 to a suitable source of watersupply'as'a spigot or thelike it such is convenient and under plausible pressure."

In the use of the present invention, assuming'that the apparatus has been folded into a @emp-act 'unit and yit desidjmpropeny assemble o'ra'rrange the s'ame, a'sis shown in Figure 1, the sip-de :frame members 13 4are irstunfolded and likewise thelinks 26 and 27 extending between the frame members 13 and end frame members 14, and then the end frame members 14 are unfolded to the positions V'shown inFigure 1. The links 21 are then brought into proper positions, or inv other words, in alignment .with 'each other and the nuts 25 tightened. The tubular 1 portions 34-maynow be threaded upon the studs 33 of the v.frame members 13 and then alp-air of clamps 29 may now 4be positioned upon each bed rail 12 and the tubular members 34 extended to the't'ubular extensions `32 of the clamps 29. -The sheet S may now be spread beneath the patient and properly connected with the frame members 13 and 14 inthe manner previously ldescribed and also connected with the headframe 10 of the bed. 'Thehose 43 may nowbe opened by manipulating the valve and receptacle 46 placed therebeneath.

The extension member 51 may .nowbe properly positioned and the water pail 564 andthe soap container 59 also, placed in position andv connected with their respective hose 67 and68. The hose- 67 and 68 are of course previously vconnected with `the spray 74. The pail '56 may now be filled-with water and the soap container 59l lled with -apreferred form of my invention, I wish it to bey understood that I am awareL ofthe lfact that the construction, combination and Aarrangement `of parts may bechanged by those skilled in the art without departing from the spiritof the inventionnasindicated by the appended claims. i

o 1. yA bathing apparatus ofthe character described, comprising asheet of water proo-f material and adapted to cover abcd, a pair of side frame members adapted to be detachably connectedto the side framemembers of the bed, means'whereby the associated edges of the sheet may be connected with saidV side frame members, a pair of frame members extending between the rear.

ends of said side frame members and the last named frame vmembers extending upwardly, means whereby the rear end of the sheet may bev connected with the said up'- wardly extending members to hold the rear end portion of the sheet in an elevated posi-1' tion, and means whereby the forward end of the sheet may be connected lwith thehead 'shown fand vdescribed the of the "bed wherebythe l`forward portion of the sheet may be held in an elevated jposition and thereby-forming a container or receptaclein` which a person'may be bathed.

In an apparatus of the'fcharacter dcscribed', including a bed having a headframe which is 'elevated with lrespect-to the rInat-A tress thereof, Iawaterl proof sheet adapted to b'espread upon Athema-ttressof the bed, a y

frame 'consisting in a pair of side members,v a `.pair 'of connectingy members between kthe rear ends of theside members, said connectingv members being `elongated and each side member havingits one endl pivotally connected to the one-end of a yconnecting member, and said conne'ctingmembers extending upwardly and having their upper ends pivotally connected to each other, whereby they mayv be folded one upon the other and the side members in turn lfolded upon ysaid connecting Amembersymeanswhereby the side frame members may be detachably connected to the siderails of the bed so that' the same will be held in an elevated position with respect tothe mattress of thebed,ineans whereby the marginal edge of the sheet may be detachably connected with the side frame 'members means wherebythe forwardend ofthe sheet may be detachab-ly connected vwith the head frame of the bed, and means whereby the rear end of said sheet may be I detachably connected withthe end connecting members of saidside frame members whereby there will be formed a receptacle in which a person reclining may be bathed 3'. A bathingl apparatus of thev character described, comprising a sheet of water proof '-material and adapted to cover a bed, a pair of side frame. members adapted to be detachablyconnected tothe side frame members lof the bed, means whereby the associatededges ofthe sheet may be connected lwith said side frame members,a vpair of frame l members extending between the rearends of 4said side frame members and the last named frame members extending upwardly,-

means whereby the rear end of the sheet may l,be connected with the said upwardly extending members to hold the rear end portion of ,the `sheet .in ian elevated position,` and means whereby lthe forward end of the sheet lmaybe secured to an'elevated point. u A bathing apparatus of thecharacter described, comprising a sheet of water proof` material adapted to cover a bed, a pair of side frame members adapted to be detachably connected to the side frame members of the bed, means whereby the corresponding edges ofithe sheet vmay be connected with said side frame members, apair of end frame members pivotally secured to each other and each having yone of its ends secured to one ofthe side frame members, said end frame members being adapted to extend upwardly with respect yto the side frame members, means for securing the rear end of said water proof sheet to said end scribed, a frame consisting in two side frame f to the bed to which the 'may be secured. f v

members adapted to be detachably secured to the rails of a bed, a pair of end frame members each having its one end pivotally connected to one of the side frame members and the other ends 0i said end frame members being pivotedto each other and adapt- 4edfto be folded one upon the other and the side 'frame members being adaptedto be folded with said end frame members to form a compact unit. y g.

6. In an apparatus of the character de# scribed, a frame comprising a pair of side members, a pair'of end members each having its one endpivotally connected to a similar end of one of said side members and having their other ends pivotally connected to each other and adapted to extend upwardly'with relation to the side members when said side members are secured to the side rails of a bed.

7. In an apparatus of the'character` described, a frame comprising a pair of side members, a pair of end members eachhaving its one end pivotally connected to asimilar end of one of said side members and having their other ends pivotally connected to each other and adapted to extend upwardly with relation to the side members when said side members are securedrto the side rails of a bed, and means supportedv between the piv oted ends of ysaid end members adapted to permita bracket arm to be detachably connected therewith for supporting a pail of water in an elevated positionwith respect side lframe members 8. Inl an apparatus of the character described, a frame comprising a pair of side members, a pair of end members each having its one'end pivotally connected to a similar endof one of said side members and having their other ends pivotally connected to each other and adapted to extend upwardly with relation lto the side members when said side members are secured to the sidevrails of a bed, 'and a sleeve supported between the water proof material for bathing a patient, e

said frame comprising a pair of side members, a plurality of clamps adapted to be secured upon each side rail of a bed, means whereby each side member of the frame may be detachably supported by said clamps in a raised positionwith respect to the rails of the bed, and foldable frame members connettingl the rear ends of saidside fram members. f v

1l. In an apparatus of the characterde- ,'scribed, a frame for supporting a sheet of water proof material for bathing a patient, said-frame comprising a pair ofside members, a plurality of clampsadapted to be secured upon each side rail of aI bed, avertical tubular member carried `by each clamp, a plurality of rods carried byeach side member' adapted to be inserted insaid tubular. members, whereby the vsidev frame members may be supported in` an'elevated position with relation to the sides ofy the bed, and-foldable frame members connectying a pair of similar ends of the side frame members.

l2. In4 an apparatus of the character described including in combination, a frame, comprising `a pair of-side members and a pair of end members, each end member having its one end pivotally connected to the one end or' a frame member, and the remaining endsoi' said frame members pivotally connected to each other, means for detachably supporting said side frame membersto'the side rails of a bed, said means beingfadapted to permit vertical adjustment of said side frame members. v

Luni-1y E, BERNIER. 

